Air Tractor AT-401 accident near Hart, Texas, August 25, 1999
On August 25, 1999 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-401, registered N15119, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hart, Texas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with power lines.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 1999 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hart, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-401
- Registration
- N15119 · no longer on the register · serial 401-0831
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot failed to maintain clearance with power lines during an aerial application flight. The pilot maneuvered the agricultural airplane under some wires and around a tree. During the maneuver, the airplane's right wing clipped the wires, and the airplane impacted the ground.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 13,800 as pilot in command; 3,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,207 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 16, 1999; 262 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W 1340-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 7:00 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 12 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:00 pm from AMA, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.